Local - Strange Happenings - Holy Ghost Bird??

Photo courtesy of NOAA

My fellow dogwalkers and I have been noticing something strange in our neighborhood. Fairy Terns hover over our dogs when we walk them in the park.

First there were one or two of them and they come very close. My dog is so low to the ground, she is oblivious to them.

The other day, there were about 6 of them and the followed us onto the street.

At first they frightened me because although these seabirds are beautiful, they are also kind of spooky-looking.

I asked a few people about them but they didn't even know what kind of birds they were. However, one of my friends did and I did a little research on the internet. Found out they are pretty harmless and if anything, they could be endangered.

But the question remains: Why do they hover over the dogs?

This is what I found out:from Celestial Visions - Fairy Tern Birds

On some tropical islands, the fairy tern is known as the Holy Ghost bird


The fairy tern is a celestial vision: Its silky plumage pure white, its slender wings translucent, its large, black-rimmed eyes the deepest midnight blue. When one hovers above you, all innocent curiosity, you can easily understand why on some tropical islands it is called the Holy Ghost bird.


Fairy terns are small, robin-sized birds with long wings. They have no natural enemies, and generally they are gentle, tame and trusting. They live on remote tropical islands in the Pacific, Indian and South Atlantic Oceans, out-of-the-way spots some people equate with paradise. With their ethereal beauty, the dainty birds fit right in.


I watched them on Bird Island, northernmost of the Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean. This 62-acre coral-and-sand outpost set in a turquoise sea is aptly named: Upon it nest in serried ranks nearly a million sooty terns, as well as brown and lesser noddies and about a hundred pairs of fairy terns.


Eccentric breeders, fairy terns are also called love terns. Unlike sooty terns that lay their eggs with synchronous precision during two weeks in early June, they breed at any time of year, at least in the Seychelles. One pair near my cabin was gently amorous in May: The mates sat close together on a branch and alternately preened the fine feathers on each other's faces, the preenee uttering soft, buzzing chirps of pleasure.